Pellet cooker performance in winter

Hot Spot

Hot Spot

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I am curious as to how much of an issue this is in cold weather states if at all. Some cookers such as Smokin Brothers and Grilla supposedly have added material to do better in cold temps and I have seen that Mak has no problem and as thick as Yoder or Outlaw or LSG probably are, I doubt they would either. but I am wondering about other cookers that do not add material.

I saw a video a while back by someone in Minnesota with a Pit Boss and when asked they said they do not use any blanket or cover in cold weather and have no problems. Obviously it would take a longer to get to temps and use more pellets but I know Minnesota gets really cold and after seeing that I wondered if that is something that is made out to be more of an issue than it actually is.
 
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Honestly, I can’t answer for other brands, but when I was stationed in NC, the MAK had no problems keeping temp in the winter and I didn’t run through a ton of pellets. I have seen videos of other brands keeping 275ish in winter but burning through a lot of pellets to do it. But the price difference between these cookers and higher quality models could buy a lot of pellets. Just saying. Besides, smoke in the pellet smoker and finish in the oven. Best of both worlds. MAK group buy coming. Just sayin!:becky:
 
We ran Mabel last week in -26° windchills, she has no issues...
 
Depends if the cooker has insulation. They'll all probably run fine in any weather, but some will probably use more pellets to keep temp.

My FEC has a bunch of insulation, so no difference in pellet usage between summer & winter. Uninsulated cookers will more than likely use much more pellets to keep the temps up.
 
Most will smoke just fine in the cold, but like others said they could use a lot more pellets. Some of the thinner and/or leakier grills will struggle to get to higher temps.
 
More pellet usage and a little longer to finish has been my experience on the Yoder 640. No insulating jacket either.
 
My Recteq definitly takes longer to heat up but holds just as well. I haven't had it long enough to notice its pellet habit, sure it probably takes a little more.
 
4ever3 said:
We ran Mabel last week in -26° windchills, she has no issues...
Click to expand...


As much as I love my MAK, ain’t no way in the world I’d be out cooking on it in -26° weather. Don’t care if the MAK could handle it or not... it’s me that would die... lol. You da man!!!
 
My Rectec handles it fine. The insulated cover will reduce the pellet use a little but I actually think throwing a welding blanket over works better. That said, this year I did neither and it’s cranking along.
 
I'll defer to my southern brethren about this. Up here in Idaho we're too busy keeping ourselves from freezing to pay any attention to the performance of our pellet cookers.
 
My Recteq Rt700 runs fine in the cold weather. No problems at all. I will say though that if it’s cold and strong winds it’ll struggle to get up to a higher temp (say over 375), but she’ll get there eventually. Just cold or cold with mild winds. No problems at all.
 

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